We haven’t touched heavily on parents, but she has mentioned a couple of things before. I think they’re assholes. But, hey, who am I to judge?
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Her nod is heavy. “He used to work away a lot, all over the world. He was a lawyer for an old businessman. To make up for always being gone, he used to give me snow globes. They filled me with some kind of warmth, something I had always craved from both my parents. I knew I was never going to get that kind of love from them, so I got what I could from him giving me shitty snow globes.” She laughs but sniffles at the same time. “It’s a weird one.”
“Not at all.” I shake my head slowly. “Never think that.”
She sighs. “How about you? Parents… Obviously, I know your dad owns the race team, and he is married to your ex…” She scrunches her nose.
“Now that’s a weird one,” I say, and she giggles loudly.
“Nah, my mum just upped and left one day. Wish there was some elaborate story to tell but it was just that. She left. Never came back.” I shrug and ignore the tightness that creeps across my chest. I was fine. I’ve no idea why I am trying to convince myself.
“Royce…” she whispers.
“Yeah, but it’s fine because my dad stepped up to both roles. He never made me miss having my mum.”
Fuck, I think that’s the first time I have ever said that out loud. Never once did I mutter a word to Anaïs.
“She wasn’t a bad mum, from what I can remember, anyway.” I pause locking my fingers into my lap. “Dad said she was always around, until one day, well, I suppose she had enough.”
Athena’s eyes flit between mine, searching for something.
“So yeah, just me and my dad until Anaïs came along,” I scoff.
“Was that weird for you?” she pries.
I could ignore her, but I can’t seem to. I want to bear my soul to her.
“I don’t know. I broke it off with her last year at my home race,” I begin, brushing my thumb pad over the back of my hand. “I wanted to focus on my career.”
“How did she take it?” she asks, her eyes not lifting from me.
“As you would expect.” I snort a laugh. “But she understood it. We were good together, we worked, but I wanted something more and she couldn’t give me that. And honestly, I didn’t want to be held back. Didn’t want the same life as my dad.”
Her brows pinch.
“He was one of the best drivers, but then he wanted more with my mum. He wanted to settle down and have a family and look where that got him. Broken hearted raising a young boy whilst trying to be the best person he could be, masking the loneliness. He gave up everything for me. Never let me quit, wanted me to be the best version of myself and that’s what he got. He paid a huge price. But now look at him.” I finally let my gaze trail up to her. “He has his own team, a wife… he got everything he ever wanted… again.”
She tilts her head.
“Proves that just because something doesn’t work out the first time around, it doesn’t mean it’s the end. It just means it wasn’t meant to be in that moment.”
Her throat bobs and I know I have struck a chord.
“Never give up on your dreams,” I mutter just as the door knocks.
Pushing up, I make my way to greet room service and push the trolley in. Slowing my steps, I glance at her and notice her eyes are misty, and I fucking hate it. I don’t push, just observe.
“I went for cheeseburger and chips, a few sides too. Don’t tell Dane, though.” I wink at her, trying to lighten the mood.
She beams at me then tries to readjust herself without flashing her underwear.
“One sec.” I hold my finger up and disappear into my bedroom and reach for a pair of grey sweats. Tossing them in her direction, she catches them and looks down to them then back to me. “Wear them, you can be more comfortable and sit how you want.” I lift the lid of the trays. “Instead of trying to hide behind that little skirt.” I feel the flames lick the skin of my cheeks.
She stands, walking towards me and smiles. “Thank you.”
“Bathroom is in my bedroom.” I cough, and once she has passed me, I let my eyes settle on those fucking legs, dreaming of trailing my tongue up the insides of her thighs.
